Bananas Vs Spades???

If you want the convenience of banana plugs, go with a quality brand of Z-style plugs. You'll get more surface area contact then with a spade or bare wire and a snug fit, though not as tight as can be achieved with the other two approaches. Don't bother with the regular-style of banana; the Z-plugs definitely give you a better fit.

You can see the difference between banana and Z here (this is a UK site):
http://www.hifi4less.com/Banana_Plugs.htm

Gmood1, if you thought I was arguing your point, I think you're a little jumpy. Actually, I didn't understand your comment about how bare wire "goes against audiophile thinking." From the posts in this thread so far, it's pretty clear that bare wire is fairly common practice. I use bare wire connections myself.

Anyway, banana plugs have their place, and I like the Z approach (Nordost offers these as alternative to spades) over expanding bananas, which I think are more prone to small contact area. I don't have experience with the controlled comparison that RJA asks about, though.